A BrOtH3r’s Pr0mIse
by Necropolis demon
Summary: We used to be happy…but then Mama and Papa went to heaven and left us at a place called ‘the orphanage’…Nii-san promised me we’d be together forever…he said he loved Sasu-chan…but then one day a man came and took me away… Growing up fic has chibiITASASU
1. Chapter 1

Necropolis demon

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Kishimoto-sensei, all hail Kishimoto-sensei. Oh…and if there's a daycare center out there called 'PlayHaus' I don't own it too.

Necro: I know the summary is in Sasuke POV but this starts with normal POV, later on I'll be incorporating some Sasuke POV in this ok. I'm just going with the flow right now. This is gonna have parts, this chap is CHILDHOOD…basically the two Uchihas are growing up in this fic ok. Uh, …I got the inspiration from a dream wherein Sasuke and Itachi were chibis and chibiSasuke was crying all the time while chibiItachi was trying to make him quiet down…it was so cute!…then I woke up and thought "hey…was that a plot bunny?" so yeah…this is AU, set in the real world…yeah. I was SUPPOSED to be concentrating on my Bloodlust 11…another ItaSasu fic of mine as most of you know, but I got side-tracked a bit when I got the idea for this fic, Bloodlust is still being worked on don't worry.

**oO…A BrOtH3r's Pr0mIse…Oo**

o0…**CHILDHOOD**…0o

_teh ag3 of InNoc3nce_

Life has always been rather simple for the innocent children of the wealthy Uchiha family, Uchiha Itachi the young 8 year old prodigy was quietly reading a College Algebra book, a book that for many people would be considered to be rather advance for one so young. On the other side of the playpen was his adorable younger brother Uchiha Sasuke playing with a simple ball as most 4 year olds are known to be so fond of. Although Itachi hated playpens, often saying that he was 'too old for such childish retaining' he agreed to be sent to 'PlayHaus', a small daycare center so that he could look after his sweet little brother while their parents were away on yet another one of their frequent business trips.

"Stop it!" at the sound of the cry Itachi immediately looked up from his book and scanned the room for Sasuke.

"Sasuke-chan!"

At a secluded corner were a couple of older kids picking on Sasuke, pulling on his hair as the poor child cried for them to stop, apparently the adult in charge of looking after the children was too busy cleaning up some kid's barf.

"Hehe, look at him and his stuuuuupiid hair!"

"Yeah, it looks like a-a…"

"a chicken's butt!"

"Yeah! A chicken's butt!"

"Chicken butt! Chicken butt! Hahaha!"

"What are you doing with my Otouto?" came Itachi's hauntingly cold voice from behind the bullies, making them freeze over with chills running down their spines.

"I-Itachi-kun! We-we were just-" on of the bullies stuttered.

"Stay. Away. From my Otouto.", his voice menacing as ever, Itachi gave the bullies a malicious glare that supposedly no 8 year old could pull off, sending the miscreants running for their mommies.

Little Sasuke continued to cry in his corner.

"Sasuke-chan, are you ok? Please stop crying, Nii-san is here now." Itachi crouched down and placed his hands on the little one's shoulders to comfort him, the child's cries eventually tuned down into soft sobs.

"Itachi-nii…" Sasuke whimpered, tears in his adorable puppy dog eyes. Everyone in the playpen agreed that of all the kids Sasuke was the most irresistibly pretty one with his big innocent eyes and that cute pout he makes when he's upset or trying to be cute…not that he wasn't already. Right now, Itachi was torn between smiling at how precious his Otouto looked and trying to look upset at Sasuke being picked on.

"Don't cry anymore ok Sasu-chan? I'm here to make it all better." Itachi smiled, giving his brother a warm hug.

Still, Sasuke felt like crying.

"What's wrong Otouto? Are you hurt somewhere?" the older Uchiha asked. Sasuke nodded and pointed to his tiny elbow to show the small scrape he supposedly got from the older kids.

"Kiss it better?" again with those teary eyes, Sasuke pouted, "Pwease? It really hurts…really REALLY bad." he added, blinking adorably and sniffling to add to the cuteness.

Not able to resist his younger brother's antics, although Itachi knew Sasuke was lying about the hurting part since said injury was from about week ago, Itachi sighed and gave in, smiling as he bent down to kiss the injury. Gently he placed a light kiss on the young one's elbow, earning a giggle from the child.

"There, does that feel better?" he smiled, a rare occurrence coming from the 'silent and brooding Uchiha boy' that people knew of.

"Un! Thank you Nii-san!" back to his cheerful little self Sasuke went back to playing with his ball which had rolled away somewhere.

Despite being a child Itachi has always been known to be serious and far more mature then other children his age, he was a very responsible kid to an extent that most grown-ups trusted him more than they trusted teenagers. He was also very quiet and was known to be anti-social with other kids, child experts said that this was because he was a genius and that children like him did not enjoy associating with normal kids. Although cold to children and adults alike, his own parents included, Itachi had a soft spot for his little brother Sasuke whom he loved more than anything in the world.

Sasuke was the only person in the whole world that he showed affection and kindness to, such character was due to the fact that their parents were never home and often left the two brothers in the care of babysitters and daycare centers. Being raised without his parents' love made Itachi rather pessimistic about the workings of the world, but he held on for the sake of his little brother whom he did not want to become like him.

Their parents were always away on business, and they didn't know any of their uncles or aunts and even if they did, their relatives hated them for being the richest in the family…their grandparents on both sides had long ago passed away before Sasuke was born too. The Uchiha brothers virtually had no one to love them except for each other…no one at all.

Their childhood days passed like this…simple enough though they lacked a mother's warmth and a father's guidance…all seemed well enough for the siblings…Sasuke was blissfully unaware of troubles and Itachi was coping well enough with life.

Until the incident…

o0……0o

_t3h f1rSt 0f Tr0ubl3S _

"Itachi-kun…we…don't know how to say this…" said one of the daycare center's employees. Itachi knew it had to be really bad, the adults never used '-kun' when talking to him since he was no ordinary child by their standards, "Well, you see…your parents were…well, the private jet that your parents were on…crashed and-"

"They're dead aren't they?" questioned the prodigy, eerily calm as though he were talking about the weather. The adults surrounding him were surprised to see such composure from one who had lost their parents; clearly Itachi did not want to be babied.

"Yes, yes they are Itachi." Another adult said, "They're gone…" he paused, unsure of himself and then continued, "the bodies were severely burnt and…and due to the circumstances…being you and your brother not having a legal guardian…we…we have no choice but to hand you both to this person over here." He gestured towards the kind-looking woman sitting at a corner, waiting for her cue.

At the mention of her the lady stood and approached the group surrounding the poor parentless child, she was dressed in a formal suit and skirt; clearly she was working for the government. Softly she spoke, "Hello Itachi-kun, I'm a Social Worker who works for the government and I'm here to make sure that you and your little brother are taken care of." She smiled, although Itachi could see it was forced.

"By 'taken care of' you mean what exactly?" the boy replied coldly.

"I'm here to take you and Sasuke-chan to an orphanage so that you-" before the woman could finish her sentence she cut off by an outraged reaction from the Uchiha.

"An orphanage?! What do you mean an orphanage?! You can't take us THERE! I will NOT stand for this! I refuse to!" for the first time Itachi yelled out loud, his fists shaking in rage after listening to what the Social Worker had to say, "Do you realize you'll be sending Uchiha children to an orphanage? UCHIHAS! Children of our financial status should not be sent to such-!"

"I am sorry Uchiha Itachi-kun but it is part of my job to make sure that-"

"I could care less for your job! You will not take us to such! Name your price and I'll pay you the money from my parents' bank accounts. Just Leave. Us. Be." With a final glare at the incompetent adults, Itachi turned away and left in search of his little brother.

The conflicted child went to the playground outside where he knew was where Sasuke was at, confused and panicking as the sad news finally sunk in. For sure he was distressed with the death of his parents, they were after all the ones supporting him and his brother, but he wasn't sad to the extent of crying over them since he had never known them that well with all the traveling they'd done. But it hurt to know that those parents were gone forever…he didn't weep for parents he barely knew…he wanted to, honestly, just so he could show a bit of humanity in him…but the tears never fell, instead he felt somewhat…numbed…the pain was there…but it was a dull ache

They had deserted him early on in life…depriving him of both parents' love…they sent gifts from abroad but those were store bought…he'd received letters of praise for his unwavering high scores but those were more like business letters rather than a father's pride.

…they were never truly there for the two Uchiha brothers.

The adults followed behind going after Itachi…the child did not make an attempt to run. Finally the Social Worker caught up with the boy and noticing the more distressed expression on Itachi's face, she became a bit more sympathetic.

"Itachi…I know this is hard. But there is nothing I can do."

"…Why…why an orphanage? Don't we have…relatives or something who would take us in?" the boy asked, somewhat desperately.

A somber expression was all the woman could give.

"We…don't? How? How can that be? Do they…" the child's eyes widened in realization, "they don't want us…they just want our money don't they?" he said, voice piercingly cold once more.

"I'm sorry Itachi, there is nothing I can do. Your parents haven't prepared any papers for your inheritance or any trust-funds for you and your brother at all since you're still so young…and as for their money…you cannot access their bank accounts with what little influence you have…you're just a little boy."

"What happens to our money then? What happens to my brother?"

"…You will both be sent to an orphanage…your parents' accounts have been seized by your relatives…"

"That-that has to be illegal!"

"Certain…underhanded paperwork and negotiations have been arranged for the equal distribution of your funds to your relatives…the government couldn't protect your parents' assets, assets meaning-"

"I know what that means." Itachi interrupted.

"Alright…well…all I can tell you in the simplest terms would be-"

"Our parents didn't leave us anything…they were too stupid to plan ahead and anything they might have owned…have been taken by jealous relatives manipulating the judicial system. We're broke." The child spoke acidly, anger building up at the thought of his parents. What was it really? …Pity for their deaths or frustration?

… "I'm sorry…for your loss." The woman gravely spoke, feeling sorry for the boy and his sibling. It wouldn't be easy losing everything…money…a home…their parents…

"Losses, you mean."

"Itachi-kun."

"Please…I'm ashamed enough as it is…just let me go get my brother…I have to tell him we're going to be orphans." Sullen, defeated, the boy spoke.

"All right then, I'll be waiting outside." With that the Social Worker left Itachi alone.

Itachi had no other choice but to surrender to the will of the adults around him…

o0……0o

Itachi later found his younger brother by the playground swings, trying to play with the swings without anyone pushing him.

"Itachi-nii! There you are! I need help, could you please push me? please?" asked the little boy, oblivious to the dread his brother felt, but as he continued to watch Itachi for any sign of response he realized with childish wonder what was wrong with his Nii-san. Itachi was subdued, not even bothering to pretend to be happy in front of the younger Uchiha.

Worried, Sasuke got off the swing and came towards his brother, holding his arms out. Seeing the sweet gesture of worry Itachi opened his arms and met the child's embrace, hugging back and kneeling so that he could look at Sasuke straight in the eye.

"What's wrong Nii-san? Why are you sad? Did somebody hurt you?" Sasuke asked, blissfully innocent and genuinely worried. It was rather heart-breaking to watch.

For a moment, Itachi looked at his brother, carefully contemplating on how to tell the child that they had not only lost their parents but now were going to be sent to an orphanage. A part of him didn't want to tell Sasuke, knowing that it would just crush the child's fragile heart…but it couldn't be avoided…Sasuke had to know.

"Sasuke…" he said, "…we won't be seeing Mother and Father for a while."

The child merely blinked, not seeing their parents was after all a normal occurrence within their family. Their parents were always gone for weeks, sometimes even months at a time before coming home for a while to be a 'normal' family.

"How long are Mama and Papa going away?" asked the adorable child, clueless.

…A heavy sigh. "A long. Long. Time…Otouto…"

"Like…a month?" Sasuke asked…but Itachi shook his 'no'.

"Half a year then?" again…no.

"A…whole year?"…no

Sasuke's brows furrowed in concentration, "I don't get it. When will they come home? Will they be home for Christmas? My Birthday? …Nii-san…?"

"I'm…afraid they won't be coming home anytime soon Sasuke…they're in heaven now."

"…I don't get it. Can't they come back?" asked Sasuke.

"Sasuke…remember your old pet canary? The one that fell asleep and never woke up ever again?"

"…Mister Chickee?"

"Yes…"

It took a while for Sasuke to process the meaning of it all, mostly because as a child he was still in denial…but when it finally sunk in…

"Mama and Papa went to where Mister Chickee went…" he concluded…distraught.

"Yes Sasu-chan…they died…"

…That was it took for little Sasu-chan to burst into tears…his eyes watered and tears flowed freely down his porcelain cheeks, he held desperately onto his brother, wrapping his arms around the older sibling for comfort as he bawled and sobbed continuously…loud enough for everyone to hear his heart-wrenching cries. Itachi just knelt there, composed, hugging back his brother whose head was buried in the crook of his neck…tears making his shirt wet…those tiny hands clenching at the fabric of his back.

Mama and Papa were never coming back for little Sasu-chan…

…Itachi had never seen his dear Sasuke-chan cry like that…

…And he never wanted to ever again…

…he vowed, on that day, in his eight year old self, that he would never ever let anything or anyone make his Sasu-chan cry like that ever again.

Never…

…_**the promise…**_

"Sasuke-chan…I will never…ever…leave you…"

"You promise? You won't leave me for heaven?" tear-stricken eyes looked up to sincere ones…

"…I promise"

…With that, Itachi kissed the younger one's forehead…tenderly…lovingly…and whole-heartedly…

oooo

Necro: There you have it, a little experiment of mine if you will. Hehe…I swear, I saw this introduction play out in my mind in like…5 minutes…it was so easy to write. I hope it turned out ok. Please Review! I love hearing from you guys and replying, it's great fun. Your reviews keep Sasuke-chan, Itachi-kun, and me happy! CHIBIS!!


	2. Chapter 2

Necropolis demon

Disclaimer: Do you honestly believe I could own Naruto? Praise the internet for free manga scans!

Necro: Hello everyone, here I bring you the second chapter of my new installment, join me as I watch how our two Uchiha brothers deal with the growing up in the real world. Yeah…from that author's note you can tell I have no idea where I'm going…kinda like how _Bloodlust_ worked out. But hey, it turned out good right? ...right? aw gawd im screwed. BTW, I love the song High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup, I mean I've heard it before and all but...well I got back to it and now it's stuck!

**oO…A BrOtH3r's Pr0mIse…Oo**

o0…**CHILDHOOD**…0o

:ORPHANED BROTHERS:

_h3llo nEw H0m3_

The once gloriously rich Uchiha siblings found themselves in a new home that was so very less than what they had in every single way. They had been sent to an orphanage on the other side of town where everything was rotten. Everywhere you looked there were messy alleys and vandalized walls, rather shady-looking individuals hiding in the dark corners unseen as if preying upon innocent passersby. It was all too different from the wealthy neighborhood they'd been brought up in. The ride to get there had been unbearably long and disheartening with little Sasuke bursting into tears every few minutes or so, the sweet child still couldn't get over the fact that he and his brother were now orphans, parentless and alone in this cruel world. Itachi had to keep whispering assurances to Sasuke, telling the sobbing child that everything was going to be all right and that they would be looked after properly and kept safe.

But oh how they were mistaken. In the orphanage, people were cold, the adults pretended to be kind but in truth they were a bunch of hypocrites, pitying the young ones as though their lives were set to be filled with hopelessness and nothing more. Most of the other children were ruthless, huddling into their own groups as though plotting something mischievous against you…one would feel uneasy around such children…children who had lost their will to hope for even the slightest of blessings. These souls were lost, frightened, yet so disdainfully cruel to all that resembled light in their ignorance.

The Uchiha siblings found no solace in these people…only mistrust, and as the two prisoners watched their world crumble the mistrust against their world grew for they knew that all they had for comfort and love was each other.

Their first night of arrival at the orphanage made sure of that.

oooo

"This will be your room you two" said the old woman in charge as she showed the two brothers their new quarters. She was a fat old woman in her late forties who was wrinkly all over and obnoxiously loud, her cold demeanor radiated for miles without end, scaring off all those who attempt to approach her. To the children around her she was crude, snide and spiteful, except for when she was accepting new children from Social Workers. It was only when she spoke to these people, or other strangers for that matter, that she acted kind and motherly as she should, but once these outsiders gone from her dominion…it was a different story. Itachi wasted no time in disliking her.

Their new room consisted of several bunk beds lined left and right, most of which were worn out and currently occupied by the other orphans ranging from age four to fourteen it seemed. About a dozen children slept in this room and Itachi had to wonder if the bathroom at the other end was of the same arrangement, with the showers being too close for comfort. Itachi had to scrunch up his nose at the sight of all those faces, some were dead to the world, others looked perpetually scared, and a few of the older kids looked downright mean at first glance.

The same thoughts must have raced in Sasuke's head as he pulled on Itachi's sleeve to get the older boy's attention, "Niisan, where are all the toys?" he asked innocently, noticing that there weren't any in the room, after all, it was supposed to be a room for kids so there should at least be a trunk of toys somewhere. This seemed to be a taboo question for everyone, some of the children looked even more scared as if expecting something horrible while the others gave secretive smirks, waiting for something.

Itachi had no clue why everyone was acting stranger all of a sudden, that was until he looked up and saw the expression on the old woman's face change from stoic and uncaring to murderous.

Anger glinted maliciously in her beady little eyes as she looked past Itachi's shoulder and glared right at Sasuke, she roughly took hold of Sasuke's arm, unceremoniously pushing the older sibling to the side and spoke, "Little boy, you may not know it but you're not rich anymore." She spat acidly, words seemingly sweet, as if taunting the poor boy, "Here in my orphanage what I choose for you to have is all that you'll ever get!" She forcefully let go of Sasuke's arm, leaving an angry bruise that was bound to hurt.

Itachi was appalled, "How dare you! You hurt my Otouto!" in a fit of rage he immediately he shoved the old lady away and hugged his dear Sasu-chan who looked like he was about to cry, "How could you talk to a four year old like that!? He was only curious aggh!-" the protective older brother's rant was cut off when the woman roughly pulled him by the hair with her long claw-like nails.

"My Orphange. My rules Uchiha brat!" she screamed at his face, "Now, since this is your first day I'm going to be lenient and explain to you how things go. Number one, your roommates are your family. Whether you befriend them or not is NOT my problem! Number two-" she gripped his hair harder making Itachi wince in pain, Sasuke's tears flowed as he cried for her to stop hurting his Aniki, "-I personally hate children and want nothing more to do with your kind other than what is required of me, you get food and water and whatever the foundation decides to give you brats but never will you get anything more from me. Number three, when I get pissed off by your shenanigans my punishment will NOT be light, I WILL be severe and I WILL educate you. There are still some other rules here but I think I'll leave that for your new family to explain." With a triumphant smirk she released Itachi's hair.

The boy dropped to his knees with a thud, his Sasu-chan quickly knelt beside him to comfort him. There were tears in Sasuke's eyes as he watched his usually calm and perfect Aniki clutching his head in pain and fuming with unspoken rage.

"We're sorry," the younger Uchiha quickly spoke up, surprising both the abusive elder and his brother, "I won't ask any stupid questions anymore." He said quietly, bowing his head in complete submission so that the woman wouldn't hurt his Aniki again.

"Good." The lady smirked even wider, "Now pick up your stuff and get settled. Dinner will be ready in half an hour, I expect everyone to be clean at the table, NO exceptions." With that she left, banging the door against the door frame a little too hard for comfort.

After a few moments of silence the other children started shuffling around again as though nothing happened and began cleaning themselves up for dinner, ignoring the two siblings huddled together by the door.

A trembling Sasuke spoke, "Itachi-nii…I thought…I thought you said we were going to be safe here." He said, on the verge of tears once more after seeing his beloved Aniki so defenseless against the abuse, "that old lady…she…she hurt you Aniki…she hurt you…"

The older boy held his brother close and whispered, "I know…and I promise things will get better…I'm sorry for letting her hurt you Sasu-chan."

Sasuke hugged back, "She hurt you more Aniki…I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."

"Nonsense Sasu-chan" Itachi replied kindly, "I'm here for you ok…so don't cry anymore. It makes me sad to see you so unhappy." He lightly held Sasuke's injured arm close to his lips and kissed the bruise. Sasuke slowly began to smile and stopped sniffling.

"Now come on, let's get you cleaned up for dinner."

"Okay Aniki…"

oooo

Dinner was a silent affair that first night since the old woman sat at the head of the table with all the children to watch over the whole thing, everyone was to eat quietly whenever this was so without speaking a single word lest they anger the adult in charge. Itachi and Sasuke thought this was rather stupid but ate quietly anyways.

The food wasn't much, it certainly wasn't a feast of any sort, but fortunately it wasn't too disgusting. It basically consisted of some thick meat and vegetable stew that tasted a tad bit too salty and some seemingly stale bread. Not much, but apparently edible enough for the orphans.

In the middle of dinner the evil old woman left abruptly to answer a phone call, leaving the children unsupervised, chaos was bound to happen and happen it did in the form of a twelve year old boy who looked like an overly stuffed pig sitting beside Itachi.

"So…you two are the new arrivals." He said, fat and bellowing child that he was. Sasuke couldn't help but gape curiously at the big twelve year old, thinking how in the world the older kid got so big living off of such meager food. The boy was simply too big for his age, apparently weighing like a buffed fifteen year old, he no longer seemed to have a neck since all you could see were layers upon layers of fat. He didn't even seem capable of bending over to pick anything up from the floor, being virtually obese and all.

The large boy scowled at being stared at, "What are you looking at?" he said, making little Sasuke blink out of his reverie.

"Nothing," came the meek reply.

"Don't tell me 'nothing', you're thinking that I'm a stupid fat pig who's really dumb aren't you?" the massive child replied hotly, scaring poor Sasu-chan.

Itachi stood up to interfere, "That's not it, my Otouto would never think of people in such an obtrusively offending way. Mind you, he never thinks ill of anyone who hasn't done him wrong."

The bully stared blankly, clueless, "… 'Obtru-what?' don't talk like that! Stop using big words and making me look dumb!" out of nowhere a plump fist came out flying at Itachi and hitting him squarely on the stomach. Itachi gasped, it had been an unexpected and extremely heavy blow. The bully's friends cheered loudly, rooting for their friend.

"Hehe, you asked for it newbie!"

"Now you're gonna get it!"

"Sock it to him!"

Soon the other children were chanting 'Fight! Fight!' over and over again, causing a commotion. But all that fuss died down when they heard the old woman's shrill voice from the other end of the hall.

"What is going on in there? I don't hear EATING!" at the sound of this, everyone quickly rushed back to their seats and pretended to eat quietly as though nothing was amiss, everyone except Itachi who was still standing and clutching his stomach in pain.

At the sight of the newcomer she exploded into a fit of rage, "You again? I thought they told me you were a smart one! Will you never learn?" in a swift movement she had Itachi by the scruff of his neck and was dragging him out to the hallway, Sasuke panicked and tried to stop her but the other bully's friends were holding him back, he screamed for the other kids to let him go…still nothing. Some of the other children peeked from the doorway to see the struggling Itachi being shoved into one of the small bathrooms at the end of the long hall, more specifically the one with the broken light bulb where it was dark and cramped.

"For your impudence, you get to sleep here tonight boy!" without another glance, the woman pulled the door into a close and locked it from the outside, making sure that Itachi couldn't get out by himself. Apparently the door had a hasp and a padlock built on the outside for punishing naughty little boys and girls.

"Let. Me. Out!" the poor boy banged his fists against the door from the inside, desperate, but the lady's footsteps were already shuffling away back into the hall.

And then…there was nothing but the sound of the boy's ragged breathing and the small string of light that snuck into the cold bathroom through the bottom of the locked door. The sounds of the outside were very vague, just shoes tapping against the wooden floor, but nothing else. Yelling for freedom would most probably get his brother into trouble so he opted to just take his punishment like a man. He hoped Sasuke would be fine for a few hours without him.

oooo

For several hours into the night Itachi laid there on the cold tiled bathroom floor, with nothing but his thoughts to soothe him. He was cold and hungry from having not finished his dinner, but oh what he would give for a bowl of that horrid soup, just enough to pass the hunger. His stomach still hurt from where that older kid hit him but what troubled him the most was his dear Sasu-chan for who knew what would happen if his little brother was left to fend for himself in that room filled with such uncouth children itching to pick a fight.

Itachi just hoped that Sasuke wouldn't do anything he would do.

Footsteps. The prodigy blinked in the dark, he could hear the footsteps from the outside with the sound of arguing to go with it. There was that high-pitched yelling from the old lady drowning out soft barely audible replies, the familiar tap of heels from those pointy shoes that the old lady wore, but accompanying it was the soft steps of tiny feet…Sasuke.

The locks clicked. The door opened, blinding Itachi with light.

"-And stay there with your brother! Rot for all I care!" As sudden as it opened, Sasuke was shoved roughly into the bathroom…the door closed shut, locked from the outside once more.

Silence.

…Itachi frowned.

"Um…hello Aniki!" Sasu-chan replied cheerfully.

Itachi's frown deepened, he could've sworn his right eye flinched, "Sasuke…"

"I'm sorry! But, but she wouldn't let you out no matter how much I said 'please'. So…I did something bad and got her to punish me like you!" said the adorable four-year old.

The older one sighed exasperatedly, leave it to Sasuke to get he wants. Although, he had to admit, for a four-year old that was a pretty smart move…well, to get to Itachi…but pissing off the old lady…not so much.

"So…you made that old lady angry on purpose so you could see me?"

…The younger Uchiha nodded, proud of himself.

Itachi sighed again, "So…what did you do to make her so angry Otouto?"

Sasuke smiled innocently, "I gave her a nickname!"

"What nickname?" Itachi's brow rose in curiosity.

"I called her 'Old Fart' Aniki!"

There was an awkward silence between the two…and then out of nowhere Itachi broke into a fit of laughter, "You…you called her an 'Old Fart'?" torn between laughing louder and reprimanding his little brother Itachi couldn't help but be amused at his Otouto's…language…

"Yup! I called her that coz she's really REALLY old!" little Sasuke spread his tiny arms as if emphasizing just how old, "AND! She smells like someone with gas!" at this Itachi burst into another fit of chuckles, shoulders trembling in amusement at Sasuke's antics.

The laughter seemed endless, innocent in its wake and carefree as though all their problems were but a far away nightmare. But as do dreams end the mirthful laughter died out. Itachi stilled, out of breath from laughing so hard…his stomach started acting up again both in hunger and pain. Sasuke frowned at the sight.

"Itachi-nii does your tummy still hurt?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, a bit…Your Aniki didn't get to eat very much at dinner so-"

"Here!" Sasuke handed out a loaf of bread he had been hiding in his shirt.

"Sasu-chan…"

"I snuck this from the table while you were gone…I thought you would be hungry so…" the boy blushed.

Itachi smiled, proud at the boy's cunning, "Thank you Otouto, thank you very much." He kissed Sasuke's forehead and hugged him close. Sasuke smiled back and blushed, relishing in the feel of his Aniki's warm embrace.

They sat there in companionable silence with Sasuke feeding Itachi bits of the bread, they sighed, if life was going to be that way from then on they had no choice but to do these kinds of things just to be fed. Never had they thought of having to sneak food for each other or watch themselves lest they anger someone unbeknownst to themselves.

Life had changed for the two, as if losing their parents and money wasn't enough of a bad thing they just had to end up at the worst orphanage in the city run by the most evil incarnate of all adults…

Itachi sighed again, that measly loaf of bread didn't quite fill his stomach enough, he gave another sigh, he'd been sighing too much for his age, "Oh Sasu-chan…'Old Fart'? You are just too cute…" he smiled sadly and held the boy in his arms closer.

"Aniki?"

"Yes?"

"We should go to sleep now. It's past my bedtime."

"…Okay." With that the two siblings huddled together, Itachi's arms draped around Sasuke's small form for warmth.

"Goodnight Sasu-chan" the older boy spoke, but the younger sibling was already fast asleep, dreaming of the life they once had wherein there was only ignorant bliss and protection.

oooo

Necro: ZOMG! …Please don't hurt me! Mild child abuse in an orphanage! People, this is TRUE, these kinds of things DO happen at orphanages! Waaaaah, I feel bad again! Why do I keep making myself feel this way? READ AND REVIEW!! And uh, check out my other ITASASU fic **Bloodlust** if you get the chance. Haha, shameless plug! Seriously, check it out.


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